The Ideal Holiday (Bernard x Reader)

Chapter 48. The Escape Clause

When dad placed the tree topper on the tree, the whole tree came falling to the ground. Everyone screamed and jumped, I was petrified at the loud noise. I grabbed Bernard's hand as tightly as I could, feeling ice lifting up more on my skin and I almost fell to the ground.

Bernard suddenly realised. "Stay calm, snowflake."

"I-I don't know i-if I-I'm c-calm or not-not." I spoke, I then noticed him taking a long sip of cider with a grin, I was about to tackle him but every time I moved the more I'd move, the more I'd fall. So I fell, Bernard caught me as quick as he could. "Oh...snowflake." He gently spoke, helping me up to my feet.

I sighed. 

Carol covered her mouth in shock and knelt down to the floor.

"Be careful, honey." Dad told his wife.

Carol looked at the shattered tree topper, and tried to quietly cry. 

"Oh...honey." Sylvia put her hand on her shoulder.

I would have beaten the ice out of Jack Frost and helped comfort Carol but I couldn't do any of that, I wouldn't want to ask Bernard to carry me because that would probably make the in-laws think I'm a wife of a kind man, which was true. But what I mean is like, that I'm quite selfish because of it.

"Honey, I think I can fix that..." Dad spoke. "...I know your upset."

Bud scoffed. "You picked up on that, didn't ya?"

"Bud, what is that suppose to mean?" Dad asked, completely confused.

Bud eyes turned cold. "Maybe if you weren't working all the time maybe you would know."

I shook my head. "Please don't argue." I said, tears filling up my eyes. I hate fighting and always will.

Bernard frowned and pulled me into a hug.

Dad ignored me. "Well, maybe you just don't know the pressure I'm under!"

Bud frowned. "Well, maybe it's not as bad as being ripped away from your family and told you can't see them anymore!"

"Dad..." Carol mumbled.

Bernard approached Santa. "It's probably for the-"

Dad cut him off. "Maybe I invited you up here, Bud." Dad began. "So  Carol could be surrounded by love and support while I'm at work, but you seem to be making it worse."

"We're leaving." Bud said.

Carol's face fell. "W-what?"

"I- That won't necessary." Bernard said.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come." Sylvia said.

"Maybe your right, maybe you shouldn't have come." Dad said, flatly.

I frowned and so did Bernard.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come either..." Carol said.

I looked down to the floor. "Maybe I should have never moved here..."

Bernard turned to me. "W-what?"

"I admit it, at the moment." I admitted.

Dad seemed hurt by all our words, then Jack came over. Bernard really seemed upset about what I said. I then just walked out, I hated all this.

Bernard followed. "Snowflake!"

I turned around. "What?!"

He frowned. "I just wanted to ask, is it true what you said in there?"

I sighed. "With the in-laws it can be really stressful, so yes...in a way."

"Oh...snowflake." He walked over and looked me in the eye. "I love you, so I respect you saying that but you didn't tell me about how much the in-laws were stressing you."

I forced a smile. "I love you, too. I didn't want to add more stress on you."

He smiled. "That doesn't matter." 

Then we then noticed something, something different that we couldn't tell.

"The Escape Clause..."Bernard muttered.

"W-what?"

Bernard sighed. "Your father is wishing he was never Santa."

I was shocked. "Why would he think that!?"

"I-I don't know." Bernard said, taking my hand.

 "If this is my last time seeing you, you earned this." I rapped my arms around Bernard and kissed him.